Just in time transcoding and packaging in IPV6 networks

Abstract

A method and apparatus for delivering requested content over a network is described. The method includes receiving, by a first network node, a request from a second network node for the requested content, the request comprising an IPv6 address associated with the requested content. A longest prefix match is then performed between the IPv6 address associated with the requested content and IPv6 addresses associated with content available at the first network node. In the event that the longest prefix match does not result in an exact match between the IPv6 address associated with the requested content and any of the IPv6 addresses associated with content available at the first network node, the request is routed towards a content variant suitable for transcoding to the requested content, the content variant being stored at the first network node.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for delivering requested content over a network, comprising:
 receiving, by a first network node, a request from a second network node for the requested content, the request comprising an IPv6 address associated with the requested content; 
 performing a longest prefix match between the IPv6 address associated with the requested content and IPv6 addresses associated with content available at the first network node; and 
 in the event that the longest prefix match does not result in an exact match between the IPv6 address associated with the requested content and any of the IPv6 addresses associated with content available at the first network node, routing the request towards a content variant suitable for transcoding to the requested content, the content variant being stored at the first network node. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the content variant is a mezzanine file associated with the requested content. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first network node, upon receiving a request for requested content which is not stored at the first network node, identifies from the request the form that the requested content should take to match the request. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein routing the request towards the content variant comprises initiating a workload associated with the content variant. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4 , wherein the workload comprises transcoding at least a portion of the content variant to produce generated content, the generated content matching the requested content. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 5 , wherein the address of the request is used as an input to the transcoding operation, to ensure that generated content matches the requested content. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 5 , further comprising delivering the generated content to a client. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , further comprising discarding the generated content once it has been delivered to the client. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 7 , further comprising storing the generated content at the first network node for a predetermined time. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the first network node advertises the content while the content is stored at the first network node. 
     
     
       11. The method of claim, wherein the address associated with the content includes a portion which specifies one or more of:
 a chunk of content which is being requested; 
 a screen resolution of a client device; 
 a geographical location of a requesting client; 
 a resolution of video content requested by a requesting client; 
 a file format requested by a requesting client; 
 subscriber information associated with a requesting client; 
 an encoding for the content which is being requested; or 
 a language in which the content is being requested. 
 
     
     
       12. A network node for delivering requested content in response to a request comprising an IPv6 address associated with the requested content, the network node comprising:
 a memory; and 
 a processor; 
 wherein the memory stores pieces of content, each piece of content having a unique IPv6 address in the memory; and 
 in the event that the request includes an IPv6 address associated with content not available on the network node, the network node is configured to perform a longest prefix match on the request to identify a content variant stored at the network node and suitable for transcoding to the requested content. 
 
     
     
       13. The network node of  claim 12 , further comprising a transcoder, wherein the network node is further configured to transcode at least a portion of the content variant to generate the requested content as generated content. 
     
     
       14. The network node of  claim 13 , further configured to store the generated content in the memory of the network node for a predetermined amount of time. 
     
     
       15. The network node of  claim 13  or  14 , wherein the transcoding comprises generating content from the content variant, by changing one or more of:
 a resolution of video content; 
 a file format; or 
 an encoding for the content. 
 
     
     
       16. An apparatus comprising a processor and a memory for storing a network cache, the apparatus being arranged for delivering requested content in response to a request comprising an IPv6 address associated with the requested content, wherein:
 the memory stores pieces of content, each piece of content having a unique IPv6 address on the cache; and 
 in the event that the request includes an IPv6 address associated with content not available on the cache, the cache is configured to perform a longest prefix match on the request to identify a content variant stored in the memory and suitable for transcoding to the requested content. 
 
     
     
       17. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the content variant is a mezzanine file associated with the requested content. 
     
     
       18. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein request is received from a client. 
     
     
       19. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the requested content is delivered to a client. 
     
     
       20. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the requested content is delivered to another network node.